The local non-profit Media Mobilizing Project, which uses media to organize poor and working people to tell their stories, has recently moved to a new location from their old location at the church on 43rd and Chestnut Streets. Their new office is at 4534 Baltimore Avenue; the space is owned and until recently was occupied by O’Donnell Real Estate. Taxi Workers Alliance of Pennsylvania has also moved to this location from 43rd and Chestnut.

As was reported earlier, the former Christ Memorial Reformed Episcopal Church building on the corner of 43rd and Chestnut is undergoing renovation, including extensive roof repairs.

By the way, O’Donnell Real Estate, a locally-owned company specializing in West Philly property sales and rentals, no longer acts as agents for sellers and buyers, according to their website, but they buy homes, apartment buildings and vacant land.

Scott (left) and Guy Orens talk to the Spruce Hill Zoning Committee on Wednesday about very rough plans for a residential building on the 4400 block of Chestnut. (Photo by Mike Lyons / West Philly Local)

A local developer gave the Spruce Hill Community Association zoning committee a sneak peak of their plan for a residential complex that would dramatically change the 4400 block of Chestnut Street.

Scott and Guy Orens, owners of Orens Brothers Real Estate, presented a project that was very early in the planning stages to build a five-story, 150-unit on the north side of the 4400 block of Chestnut that require the demolition of some vacant and owner-occupied homes and a warehouse along Ludlow Street.

The two brothers, whose firm has built or renovated several large residential buildings in the city including the once-abandoned Croydon building at 49th and Locust, were not yet seeking any approval for their plan from the committee.

They have already purchased many of the properties that would be required to build the complex, which would be one- and two-bedroom rentals, but public discussions about things like building design, materials and facade appearance have not yet begun.

“We are willing to participate in creating something that you will like,” Scott Orens told the committee.  Continue Reading

Pre-manufactured apartment building at 46th and Sansom. (Photo by Mike Lyons/West Philly Local)

Last spring we wrote about a new residential building, “Sansom Street Flats,” planned on the vacant lot at 46th and Sansom Streets. There wasn’t too much development going on on the site since then, until just a few weeks ago when we saw that the building’s foundation had been laid. Suddenly, a building has appeared.

Last week a three-story building went up really fast, according to West Philly Local reader reports. One reader reported that “a crane arrived and dropped in some what look like prefab 2- or 3-story houses.” A quick search of the city’s Licenses and Inspections database confirmed that the owner of the lot, which encompasses 128-138 S. 46th Street, received a permit in December 2014 for the “erection of a foundation system and the installation of a three-story pre-manufactured structure with cellar for use as a three-family dwelling.”

It became known last week that another apartment building is planned just across the street from this building – at 46th and Walnut.

Sansom Street Flats is a project by Sansom Street Development LP. It was reported earlier that the units in the building were planned for rental purposes. The project is expected to be completed in August 2015.

Photo courtesy University City District

The University City District is continuing experimenting with new “social seating” structures in the area. Last year, they introduced the Looped In structures in various locations, and earlier this week, a custom public transit stop seat was installed at 36th and Lancaster Avenue.

The new seats are designed to “provide seating and information to passengers waiting for public transit… the latest in a series of social seats designed to be functional, versatile, and unique to University City.”

The 3600 block of Lancaster Avenue was selected as a high-volume transit area where there is a strong need for seating. The location is a popular stop on the Route 10 SEPTA line; it serves mostly Drexel students and patrons of local businesses. UCD plans to install two more in other similar areas in University City and is currently evaluating additional locations.

The idea of these new seats was conceived by UCD’s Policy and Research Manager Seth Budick, and Capital Projects Manager Nate Hommel designed them and oversaw their production.

Current Cedar Park Neighbors Board members (Photo courtesy CPN).

Cedar Park Neighbors (CPN), the community association for the Cedar Park neighborhood, is recruiting candidates for its board of directors.

The deadline for nominations is March 27, 2015. The openings are for two-year terms starting in June. To qualify you need to live in Cedar Park (here is a map) and register as a CPN member by April.

Responsibilities include participating in monthly two-hour board meetings and committee work. CPN handles a number of neighborhood initiatives, including block organizing and a scholarship fund, and consults with the city on zoning matters.

Contact Meg Ferrigno at skyflowers0@gmail.com or 267-241-7606 with questions. To be considered, e-mail a “concise” (under 500 words) biography to the address above.

Board elections will be held at the annual membership meeting on Monday, April 20, at 7 p.m. at the Calvary Center at 48th & Baltimore.

More information is available on the CPN website.

Fresh, locally grown fruits and veggies are just a couple of months away! Local summer Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs will resume in May and already started accepting applications. CSAs usually work as a seasonal subscription programs where subscribers purchase a share of the produce grown on a local farm.

Urban and rural farms, food entrepreneurs and restaurants are participating in this summer’s CSA programs by supplying locally grown or prepared items, including produce, dairy, meat, honey, baked goods, coffee, beer, and more! Here’s a list of assorted CSA programs, which offer share pick-up location in West Philadelphia. Please note that Greensgrow Farms is currently offering early bird CSA sign-up discounts.  Continue Reading